Method and system for spray drying insects

ABSTRACT

In some examples, a system may be configured to generating flour having a uniform particle size of less than 100 Microns from whole insects. For example, the may include generating a slurry from whole insects by adding water while blending the whole insects using one or more mixers to generate an insect slurry. In some cases, the water is added to the insect parts to reduce the viscosity and to assist in separating the whole insects into parts. In some cases, the insect slurry may be filtered.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 15/586,811, filed on May 4, 2017 and entitled“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SPRAY DRYING INSECTS,” now U.S. Pat. No.10,638,788, which is a non-provisional of and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/331,831 to Mott et al., entitled“Processor for Optimizing Harvests of Insects,” filed May 4, 2016, theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

Insects have been found to be a promising source of high quality proteinwith a substantially lower ecological footprint than typical livestock.In some cases, insects may be processed to form a flour. Unfortunately,current techniques for processing insects for flour fail to produce anend product with a wide particle size distribution and large averageparticle size. Often, using the current techniques of roasting wholeinsects and then grinding produces a flour having a mix of fine grainparticulars and fragments that are visibly identifiable as insect parts.The lack of uniformity in particle size results in increased difficultywhen cooking with the resulting flour. Attempts have been made to spraydry insects to generate a product with smaller, more uniform particlesize. However, most conventional spray drying approaches have failed todo this.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram showing an illustrativeprocess associated with generating flour from insects according to someimplementations.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example system for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example system for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example system for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 7 provides an example flow diagram illustrating example processesfor generating insect flour described above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are implementations and techniques for generating flourfrom whole insects. For example, when dealing with some insects, such ascrickets, the insects may be processed from a whole state (either aliveor dead) into a fine particular or “flour” state. The flour may then beused as a high protein substitute for other types of foods includingtraditional bleached or wheat flours. Traditionally, the whole insectsare ground, wet-ground, or milled to produce the flour. However, whenusing conventional techniques often results in a mix of powder and largevisible insect parts which results in an unsightly and difficult to useproduct.

In some cases, described herein are methods for generating insect basedflour having a uniform particle size of less than 100 Microns. Forexample, the method may include generating a slurry from whole insectsby adding water while blending the whole insects using a low-shear mixerto generate a coarse insect slurry containing a mix of coarsely choppedor blended insect parts. In some cases, the water is added to the insectparts to reduce the viscosity and to assist in separating the wholeinsects into parts. In some cases, the water may be applied at atemperature of approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit (° F.), while inother cases the water may be at room temperature. In some specificexamples, the whole insects may be processed by the low-shear mixer inthe absence of water.

The coarse insect slurry is then pumped to or otherwise placed within ahigh-shear mixer to further reduce the particle size of the coarseslurry and generate a fine grain slurry. For example, the fine grainslurry may be ground to produce a slurry including particulars of lessthan a threshold size, such as 100 Microns in size. In some cases, thefine grain slurry may be filtered to remove any particles exceeding thethreshold size. In some specific cases, the fine grain slurry may bedried for further processing. For instance, the dried slurry may bere-suspended and passed through the high shear mixer a second time tofurther assist in reducing the particle size below the threshold size.In some instance, the fine grain slurry may be passed through a filter asecond time following the second pass of the high shear-mixer. In oneparticular example, the fine grain slurry may be mixed with anyremaining post-shear fluid in a recirculating loop back to the mixer.

The fine grain slurry is pasteurized after processing by the high-shearmixer is complete. In some cases, the fine grain slurry is pasteurizedby heating the slurry for fifteen minutes to one hour maintaining atemperature of approximately 185° F. In other cases, the slurry may beheated a period of between fifteen minutes to one hour maintaining atemperature of approximately 161° F. In some cases, the slurry may befurther mixed or blended during the pasteurization process.

The pasteurized slurry may be dispensed into a drying chamber or undergoa spray drying process. In some case, the rotary atomizer dispensed theslurry at a rate of approximately 1700 pounds per hour. In other cases,the flow rate associated with dispensing the slurry was betweenapproximately 500 to 2000 pounds per hour. In one specific example, theflow rate of the rotary atomizer is 1715 pounds per hour. For example,the drying chamber may be approximately 14 feet in diameter andapproximately 14 feet tall and set to a temperature of 150° F. Inanother example, the drying chamber may be between 10 feet in diameterand 22 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall and 22 feet tall. In somecases, the drying chamber may be flat-bottomed or cone-bottomed. Inconvention methods that utilize smaller drying chambers or other shapesof chambers, the wet slurry fails to dry at an appropriate rate andtypically impacts the interior walls of the drying chamber and burningor sticking to the interior surface, thereby destroying at least aportion of the flour.

The slurry may be dispensed using a using a rotary atomizer. In somecases, the rotary atomizer may include a disk diameter of betweenapproximately 170 millimeters (mm) and approximately 300 mm. The diskspeed may be set at between approximately 5000 rotations per minute(RPMs) and approximately 25,000 RPMs. In some cases, the rotary atomizermay also have a broad aperture unlike the conventional methods thatutilize high-pressure spray nozzles, which are highly susceptible toblockage due to the fluid's characteristics introduced by the insectpartials in the slurry and often results in unacceptable delays.

In some cases, some amount of the insect particles may be greater thanthe desired particle size. Thus, the product resulting after spraydrying may be passed through one or more screens to separate theparticle sizes. For example, the resulting product may be forced throughat least two cyclones as well as a 20 mesh to a 40 mesh sifter. Forexample, the sifter may separate the larger insect parts or agglomeratedparticles from the fine grain particles that may be utilized as flour.In some cases, the larger particles may be introduced into anotherinsect slurry and reprocessed via the spray drying to further reduce thepartial size below the desired proportions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations. For example, some insects 102 areregularly consumed in a “flour” state in addition to a whole orsemi-whole state. In some cases, the flour 104 is used as a high proteinsubstitute for other types of foods including traditional bleached orwheat flours. Traditionally, the whole insects 102 are ground,wet-ground, or milled to produce the flour 104. However, usingtraditional techniques often results in a mix of powder and largevisible insect parts which results in an unsightly product and canaffect the quality and consistency of any foodstuff made with the flour104.

In the current example, a system 100 may be at an insect or foodprocessing facility for converting the whole insects 102, such ascrickets, into flour 104. In this example, the whole insects 102 may beheated or thawed by a heater (not shown). For instance, the wholeinsects 102 may be frozen prior to processing to preserve the foodproduct for longer durations.

Initially, the whole insects 102 are placed into a rinse device 106. Forexample, the rinse device 106 may include a wire basket or containerthat includes a mesh configured to allow water to pass but to retain thewhole crickets 102. In some cases, the rinse device 106 may apply warmwater to begin the thawing processes of the whole crickets 102 whenfrozen. For instance, the water may be at room temperature or within arange of approximately 35° F. to approximately 80° F. In some cases, thewhole crickets 102 may be sprayed with water for a period of greaterthan one hour. In other cases, the whole crickets 102 may be sprayedwith water for a period of greater than two hours. In still other cases,the whole crickets 102 may be sprayed with water for a period of greaterthan two hours and less than three hours. In one particular example, thewhole crickets 102 may be sprayed with the water for a period ofapproximately two hours.

The whole insects 102 are initially provided to a mixer 108. Forinstance, the mixer 106 may be a low-shear mixer configured to convertthe whole insects 102 into a coarse slurry by mixing the insects 102with water. In one implementation, the mixer 108 may mix the wholeinsects 102 while adding water at a ratio of approximately 1.5 lb ofcricket to 2 lbs of water, with a resulting coarse slurry that isapproximately 42% insects and 58% water. In some cases, the coarseslurry may have a range of 30% to 50% insect and 50% to 70% water. Thecoarse slurry may also include insect parts or particles having a sizeof less than approximately 3 cm. In another example, the coarse slurrymay also include insect parts or particles having a size of less thanapproximately 5 cm. In some cases, the mixer 108 may include an impellerthat is initially set to a rate of between approximately 1000 rotationsper minute (RPMs) and 1600 RPMs. In some situations, after a period oftime has elapsed, the impeller may be increased to a rate of betweenapproximately 1400 RMPs and approximately 2000 RPMs. In one particularexample, the impeller that is initially set to a rate of approximately1440 RPMs and then increased to a rate of 1800 RMPs. In some case, thewater added to the mixer 108 may be at a temperature of approximately145° F. In other cases, the water added to the mixer 108 may be at atemperature of between approximately 100° F. and approximately 180° F.In one particular example, the mixer 108 may also be configured to heator apply steam to the coarse slurry. For example, the steam or heat maybe turned on and set at a temperature of approximately 145° F. when therater of the impeller is increased.

The coarse slurry may be provided or pumped to the high-shear device 110to generate a fine slurry, or a slurry having particles of a size of 100Microns or less. In some cases, the coarse slurry may be passes throughthe high-shear device 110 via multiple passes with the high-shear device110 set to different configurations. For instance, in one particularsituation, during the first pass, the high-shear device 110 may havestators set to a coarse, medium, fine configuration and, during asecond, pass the high-shear device 110 may have stators set to a fine,very fine, ultra fine configuration. In some cases, the high-sheardevice 110 may be set to rotational speed of between approximately 35hertz (HZ) and approximately 80 Hz.

In the current example, the fine slurry may be filtered by filter 112 toremove any particles of greater than approximately 100 Microns from theslurry. The fine slurry is pasteurized by the heater 114. For example,the heater may pasteurize the slurry by heating the slurry to atemperature of approximately 185° F. In other cases, the heater maypasteurize the slurry by heating the slurry to a temperature ofapproximately 161° F. In still other cases, the slurry may bepasteurized by heating to 155° F. In some instances, the slurry may beheld at temperature for a length of approximately 35 minutes. In othercases, the slurry may be held at temperature for a length of timeapproximately 30 minutes to approximal 40 minutes in duration or for alength of time approximately 30 minutes to approximal 60 minutes induration. In some cases, the slurry may be held at temperature for alength of time greater than or equal to 30 minutes or greater than orequal to 35 minutes.

The pasteurized slurry is provided to the rotatory atomizer associatedwith a drying chamber 116. For instance, the rotatory atomizer may beconfigured to dispense or spray the slurry into the drying chamber 116.In some cases, the rotary atomizer may include a disk diameter ofbetween approximately 170 mm and approximately 300 mm. The disk speedmay be between approximately 5000 RPMs and approximately 25,000 RPMs.

As the slurry is dispensed into the drying chamber 116 by the rotatoryatomizer, the drying chamber 116 may apply heat at a temperature whichcauses the water in the slurry to evaporate prior to the slurryimpacting the walls of the drying chamber 114. In some implementations,the drying chamber 116 may be approximately 14 feet in diameter andapproximately 14 feet tall and set to a temperature of 150° F. Inanother example, the drying chamber 116 may be between 10 feet indiameter and 22 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall and 22 feet tall. Insome cases, the drying chamber 116 may be flat-bottomed orcone-bottomed. In some instances, the drying chamber 116 may beconfigured to evaporate water at a rate of approximal 1500 lb of waterper hour. In other cases, the drying chamber 116 may be configured toevaporate water at a rate of approximal 1300 lb of water per hour to1700 lbs of water per hour. In yet other cases, the drying chamber 116may be configured to evaporate water at a rate of approximal 1000 lb ofwater per hour to 2000 lbs of water per hour.

The dried particles may be collected from the drying chamber 116 anddeposited into one or more cyclones 118. The cyclones 118 may be used toseparate the dried particles removing any particle that is too smallfrom the flour 104 or below a minimum threshold. The remaining particlesmay then be passed through one or more final filters 120 to remove anyparticles from the flour that are more than a maximum threshold. Forexample, the filter 120 may include one or more screens/meshes ofvarious sizes, such as a 40-mesh filter. In one particular example, theslurry may be passed through two cyclones and a 40 mesh Kason sifter.

In the current example, the processing devices 106-120 are shown asindividual devices. However, it should be understood that the processingdevices 106-120 may be combined in whole or in part. For example, thehigh-shear device 110, filter 112, and/or heater 114 may be incorporatedinto the mixer 108.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example system 200 for processing wholeinsects according to some implementations. In the current example, thesystem 200 may be at an insect or food processing facility forconverting the whole insects 202, such as crickets, into flour 204. Inthis example, the whole insects 202 are initially provided to a mixer206. For instance, the mixer 206 may be a low-shear mixer configured toconvert the whole insects 202 into a coarse slurry by mixing the insects202 with water. In some cases, the mixer 206 may include an impellerthat is initially set to a rate of between approximately 1000 rotationsper minute (RPMs) and 1600 RPMs. In some situations, after a period oftime has elapsed, the impeller may be increased to a rate of betweenapproximately 1400 RMPs and approximately 2000 RPMs. In one particularexample, the impeller that is initially set to a rate of approximately1440 RPMs and then increased to a rate of 1800 RMPs. In some case, thewater added to the mixer 206 may be at a temperature of approximately145° F. In other cases, the water added to the mixer 206 may be at atemperature of between approximately 100° F. and approximately 180° F.In one particular example, the mixer 108 may also be configured to heator apply steam to the coarse slurry. The coarse slurry may be providedor pumped to the high-shear device 208 to generate a fine slurry, or aslurry having particles of a size of 100 Microns or less. In the currentexample, the mixer 204 and the high-shear device 208 may be coupled to arecirculation loop. For instance, the loop may allow the fine slurry, orpost shear liquids, to be mixed with additional water or additionalwhole insects 202 and reprocessed by the mixer 206 and high-shear device208. In other instances, the loop may allow the slurry to make multiplepasses through the mixer 206 and high-shear device 208 to increase thelikelihood that the particle size of the slurry is less than 100Microns. For example, the loop may include a threshold number of passes220 that the slurry will make through the mixer 206 and the high-sheardevice 208. In some cases, the high-shear device 208 may be set torotational speed of between approximately 35 HZ and approximately 60 Hzon the first pass and a rotational speed of between approximately 50 HZand approximately 80 Hz on the second pass. While high-shear device 208is illustrated as a single device, in some cases, the high-shear device208 may include multiple high-shear devices 208 having variousconfigurations to allow for multiple passes without having to reset theequipment, thereby improving throughput.

In the current example, the fine slurry may be filtered by filter 210 toremove any particles of greater than approximately 100 Microns from theslurry. In the current example, the fine slurry is pasteurized by theheater 112. For example, the heater may pasteurize the slurry by heatingthe slurry to a temperature of approximately 185° F. In other cases, theheater may pasteurize the slurry by heating the slurry to a temperatureof approximately 161° F. In still other cases, the slurry may bepasteurized by heating to 155° F. In some instances, the slurry may beheld at temperature for a length of approximately 35 minutes. In othercases, the slurry may be held at temperature for a length of timeapproximately 30 minutes to approximal 40 minutes in duration or for alength of time approximately 30 minutes to approximal 60 minutes induration. In some cases, the slurry may be held at temperature for alength of time greater than or equal to 30 minutes or greater than orequal to 35 minutes.

The pasteurized slurry is provided to the rotatory atomizer associatedwith a drying chamber 214. For instance, the rotatory atomizer may beconfigured to dispense or spray the slurry into the drying chamber 214.As the slurry is dispensed into the drying chamber 214 by the rotatoryatomizer, the drying chamber 214 may apply heat at a temperature whichcauses the water in the slurry to evaporate prior to the slurryimpacting the walls of the drying chamber 214.

The dried particles may be collected from the drying chamber 214 anddeposited into one or more cyclones 216. The cyclones 216 may be used toseparate the dried particles removing any particle that is too smallfrom the flour 204 or below a minimum threshold. The remaining particlesmay then be passed through one or more final filters 218 to remove anyparticles from the flour that are more than a maximum threshold. Forexample, the filter 218 may include one or more screens/meshes ofvarious sizes.

In the current example, the processing devices 206-218 are shown asindividual devices. However, it should be understood that the processingdevices 206-218 may be combined in whole or in part. For example, thehigh-shear device 208 may be incorporated into the mixer 206 toapproximate the recirculation loop in a single device.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system 300 for processing wholeinsects according to some implementations. In the current example, thesystem 300 may be at an insect or food processing facility forconverting the whole insects 302, such as crickets, into flour 304. Inthis example, the whole insects 302 are initially provided to a mixer306. For instance, the mixer 306 may be a low-shear mixer configured toconvert the whole insects 302 into a coarse slurry by mixing the insects302 with water.

The coarse slurry may be provided or pumped to the high-shear device 308to generate a fine slurry, or a slurry having particles of a size of 100Microns or less. In the current example, the fine slurry may be filteredby filter 310 to remove any particles of greater than a threshold 320(e.g., greater than approximately 100 Microns) from the particles lessthan the threshold 322. The particles 320 may then be provided back intothe mixer 306 to, for instance, mix with the next batch of whole insects302. In the current example, the particles 322 are pasteurized by theheater 312.

The pasteurized particles 322 are provided to the rotatory atomizerassociated with a drying chamber 314. As the particles 322 are dispensedinto the drying chamber 314 by the rotatory atomizer, the drying chamber314 may apply heat at a temperature which causes the water in the slurryto evaporate prior to the slurry impacting the walls of the dryingchamber 314.

The dried particles 322 may be collected from the drying chamber 314 anddeposited into one or more cyclones 316. The cyclones 316 may be used toseparate the dried particles removing any particle that is too smallfrom the flour 304 or below a minimum threshold. The remaining particlesmay then be passed through one or more final filters 318 to remove anyparticles from the flour that are more than a maximum threshold.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example system 400 for processing wholeinsects according to some implementations. In the current example, thesystem 400 may be at an insect or food processing facility forconverting the whole insects 402, such as crickets, into flour 404. Inthis example, the whole insects 402 are initially provided to a mixer406. For instance, the mixer 406 may be a low-shear mixer configured toconvert the whole insects 402 into a coarse slurry by mixing the insects402 with water.

The coarse slurry may be provided or pumped to the high-shear device 406to generate a fine slurry, or a slurry having particles of a size of 100Microns or less. In the current example, the fine slurry may be filteredby filter 408 to remove any particles of greater than a threshold (e.g.,greater than approximately 100 Microns) from the slurry.

In the current example, the slurry is then provided to the heater 412.The heater 412 heats the slurry for a desired period of time to attemptto pasteurize the slurry. However, in some cases, the pasteurizationfails, or the slurry fails to reach a threshold internal temperature. Inthis implementation, a thermal couple 420 may be configured to measurethe internal temperature of the slurry as the slurry exits the heater412. If the temperature is less than the threshold 422 the particles arereturned to the mixer 406 to, for instance, be incorporated into thenext batch of flour 404. However, if the slurry is greater than thethreshold 424, the slurry is passed to the drying chamber 414. In somecases, the threshold 422 and the threshold 424 may be the same.

As the slurry is dispensed into the drying chamber 414 by the rotatoryatomizer, the drying chamber 414 may apply heat at a temperature whichcauses the water in the slurry to evaporate prior to the slurryimpacting the walls of the drying chamber 414.

The slurry may be collected from the drying chamber 414 and depositedinto one or more cyclones 416. The cyclones 416 may be used to separatethe dried particles removing any particle that is too small from theflour 304 or below a minimum threshold. The remaining particles may thenbe passed through one or more final filters 418 to remove any particlesfrom the flour that are more than a maximum threshold.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example system 500 for processing whole insectsaccording to some implementations. For example, some insects 502 areregularly consumed in a “flour” state in addition to a whole orsemi-whole state. In some cases, the dry flour 504 is used as a highprotein substitute for other types of foods including traditionalbleached or wheat flours. Traditionally, the whole insects 502 areground, wet-ground, or milled to produce the flour 504. However, usingtraditional techniques often results in a mix of powder and largevisible insect parts which results in an unsightly product and canaffect the quality and consistency of any foodstuff made with the flour104.

In the current example, a system 500 may be at an insect or foodprocessing facility for converting the whole insects 502, such ascrickets, into dry flour 504. In this example a management system 506may be configured to communicate with various other processing devices,such as low-shear device 506, a high-shear device 508, pasteurizer 510,rotatory atomizer 512, and a drying chamber 514. In general, themanagement system 506 may provide instructions to the processing devices506-514, such as temperatures, speeds (e.g., mixer speed and diskspeed), durations, spray rates, etc.

In this example, the whole insects 502 may be heated or thawed by aheater (not shown). For instance, the whole insects 502 may be frozenprior to processing to preserve the food product for longer durations.In some cases, the heater may apply a temperature of approximately 140°F. In other cases, the heater may apply a temperature in a range fromapproximately 100° F. to 200° F.

The de-thawed and heated whole insects 502 are then provided to alow-shear device 506. The low-shear device 506 may convert the wholeinsects 502 into a coarse slurry 516 which may be further processed bythe high-shear device 508. For instance, the low-shear device 506 maymix the whole insects 502 while adding water at a ratio of approximately1.5 lb of cricket to 2 lbs of water, with a resulting coarse slurry 516that is approximately 42% insects and 58% water. In some cases, thecoarse slurry 516 may have a range of 30% to 50% insect and 50% to 70%water.

The coarse slurry 516 may be provided or pumped to the high-shear device508 to generate a fine slurry 518. For example, the fine slurry 518 mayhave a particle size of less than 100 Microns. The fine slurry 518 isthen pasteurized by the pasteurizer 110. For example, the fine slurry518 is keep by the pasteurizer 510 at temperature for a period ofbetween thirty minutes to one hour or until the fine slurry 518 reachesa temperature of approximately 185° F. In other cases, the fine slurry518 may be pasteurized for a period of between thirty minutes to onehour or until the slurry reaches a temperature of approximately 161° F.

The pasteurized slurry 520 is provided to the rotatory atomizer 512which may be configure to dispense or spray the pasteurized slurry 520into the drying chamber 514. For example, the rotary atomizer 516 mayinclude a disk diameter of between approximately 170 mm andapproximately 300 mm. The disk speed may be set by the management system106 at between approximately 5000 RPMs and approximately 25,000 RPMs.

As the pasteurized slurry 520 is dispensed into the drying chamber 514,the drying chamber 514 may apply heat which causes the water in thepasteurized slurry 520 to evaporate and the insects to be reducedfurther in size. For example, the drying chamber 514 may include one ormore screens/meshes and/or one or more cyclones to further reduce theparticle size. In some implementations, the drying chamber 514 may beapproximately 14 feet in diameter and approximately 14 feet tall and setby the management system 106 to a temperature of 150° F. In anotherexample, the drying chamber 514 may be between 10 feet in diameter and22 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall and 22 feet tall. In some cases,the drying chamber 514 may be flat-bottomed or cone-bottomed.

In the current example, the processing devices 508-514 are shown asindividual devices. However, it should be understood that the processingdevices 508-514 may be combined in whole or in part. For example, thelow-shear device 506 and the high-shear mixer 508 may be coupled by atube and/or the high-shear device 508 and the pasteurizer 510 may becombined to both generate the pasteurized slurry 520 at substantiallythe same time.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example system 600 for processing wholeinsects according to some implementations. In the current example, asystem 600 may be at an insect or food processing facility forconverting the whole insects 602, such as crickets, into dry pasteurizedflour 604. In this example a management system 606 may be configured tocommunicate with various other processing devices, such as low-sheardevice 606, a high-shear device 608, rotatory atomizer 610, a dryingchamber 612, and a pasteurizer 614. In general, the management system606 may provide instructions to the processing devices 606-614, such astemperatures, speeds (e.g., mixer speed and disk speed), durations,spray rates, etc.

In this example, the whole insects 602 are provided to a low-sheardevice 606. The low-shear device 606 may convert the whole insects 602into a coarse slurry 616 which may be further processed by thehigh-shear device 608. For instance, the low-shear device 606 may mixthe whole insects 602 while adding water.

The coarse slurry 616 may be provided or pumped to the high-shear device608 to generate a fine slurry 618. For example, the fine slurry 618 mayhave a particle size of less than approximately 100 Microns. The fineslurry 618 may be provided to the rotatory atomizer 610 which may beconfigure to dispense or spray the slurry 618 into the drying chamber612.

As the slurry 618 is dispensed into the drying chamber 612, the dryingchamber 612 may apply heat which causes the water in the slurry 618 toevaporate and the insects to be reduced further in size and produce adry flour 620.

The dry flour 620 is then pasteurized by the pasteurizer 614. Forexample, the dry flour 620 may be irradiated or exposed to radiation fora predetermined period of time to kill or exterminate any pathogens inthe flour 604.

FIG. 7 provides an example flow diagram illustrating example processesfor generating insect flour described above. The processes areillustrated as a collection of blocks in a logical flow diagram, whichrepresent a sequence of operations. The order in which the operationsare described should not be construed as a limitation. Any number of thedescribed blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel toimplement the process, or alternative processes, and not all of theblocks need be executed.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example flow diagram showing an illustrativeprocess 200 associated with generating flour from whole insectsaccording to some implementations. As discussed above, some insects areregularly consumed in a “flour” state in addition to a whole orsemi-whole state. In some cases, the flour is used as a high proteinsubstitute for other types of foods including protein powders like whey,soy or legume and traditional bleached or wheat flours. Traditionally,the whole insects are ground, wet-ground, or milled to produce theflour. However, using traditional techniques often results in a mix ofpowder and large visible insect parts which results in an unsightlyproduct and can affect the quality and consistency of any foodstuff madewith the flour.

At 702, the whole insects may be frozen. For example, followingharvesting the insects may be flash frozen to increase shelf life or forlong term storage. In most cases, the insects are maintained in thefrozen state until processing for sale as an agricultural good to an endconsumer or grocer.

At 704, heat is applied to the frozen insects. For example, the wholeinsects may be heated or thawed prior to processing into flour. In somecases, a heater may apply a temperature of approximately 140° F. Inother cases, the heater may apply a temperature in a range fromapproximately 100° F. to 200° F.

At 706, a first slurry is generated from the whole insects. For example,the de-thawed and heated whole insects may be provided to a low-shearmixer to generate a coarse slurry over a period of time. For instance,the low-shear mixer may convert the whole insects into the coarse slurryby mixing the whole insects while adding water. In some examples, thewater may be added at a ratio of approximately 1.5 lb of cricket to 2lbs of water. The first slurry may have a first set of particles havinga first particle size within a range, such as approximately 1-3centimeters (cm). In one particular example, the first particle sizerange may be from approximately 3 cm to approximately 100 Microns.

At 708, a second slurry may generate from the first slurry. The firstslurry may then be processed by a high-shear mixer to generate a fineslurry or the second slurry having particles of less than a threshold(such as approximately 100 Microns) or within a second particle sizerange (such as between approximately 10 Microns and approximately 100Microns). The resulting fine slurry may be approximately 42% insects and58% water. In some cases, the slurry may have a range of 30% to 50%insect and 50% to 70% water.

At 710, the second slurry may be pasteurized. For example, heat may beapplied to the slurry for a period of between thirty minutes to one houror until the slurry reaches a temperature of approximately 185° F. Inother cases, the second slurry may be pasteurized a period of betweenthirty minutes to one hour or until the second slurry reaches atemperature of approximately 161° F. in some case, the slurry may bepasteurized while the slurry is generated by the mixer. For example, hotwater may be added mixer. In some cases, one of the mixers may alsoapply heat to the slurry to achieve the desired temperature of 185° F.

At 712, the second slurry is dispersed into a drying chamber using arotary atomizer. In some case, the rotary atomizer dispensed the slurryat a rate of approximately 1715 pounds per hour. In other cases, theflow rate associated with dispensing the second slurry was betweenapproximately 1500 and 2000 pounds per hour. In some implementations,the drying chamber may be approximately 14 feet in diameter andapproximately 14 feet tall and set to a temperature of 150° F. Inanother example, the drying chamber may be between 10 feet in diameterand 22 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall and 22 feet tall. In somecases, the drying chamber 114 may be flat-bottomed or cone-bottomed. Therotary atomizer may include a disk diameter of between approximately 170mm and approximately 300 mm. The disk speed may be set at betweenapproximately 5000 RPMs and approximately 25,000 RPMs.

At 714, the dried particles are separated into a third set of particleshaving a particle size smaller than a third particle size from a fourthset of particles having a particle size greater than the third particlesize. For example, the third particle size may be 100 Microns or lessthan 50 Microns. In some cases, some of the insect material may notachieve the desired size of smaller than 100 Microns and, thus, beseparated from the rest of the particles for reprocessing. In somecases, the third and fourth set of particles may be separated using amesh or screen as well as one or more cyclones associated with thedrying chamber.

At 716, the fourth set of particles is reprocessed or added back intothe slurry. For example, the third set of particles may be added to thewhole insects being processed by the mixer or to the slurry afterpasteurization.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating insect-based flourcomprising: generating a slurry from insects classified as Gryllidae byspraying the insects with water for a period of time greater than onehour, prior to reducing a size of suspended particles of the slurry;mixing the slurry by an impeller of a mixer set to a first rate ofapproximately 1140 RPMs or greater for a first period of time at atemperature of approximately 140° F. in the mixer; after the firstperiod of time has elapsed, mixing the slurry by the impeller at asecond rate of approximately 1800 RPMs or greater for a second period oftime at a temperature of approximately 140° F. in the mixer; processingthe slurry by a first shear device at a first rotational speed ofbetween 35 HZ and 60 HZ; reheating the slurry to 140° F.; processing theslurry by the first shear device at a second rotational speed of between50 HZ and 80 HZ to reduce the size of the suspended particles of theslurry to less than 100 microns; and dispensing, by a rotary atomizer,the slurry into a drying chamber to generate dried particles.
 2. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising pasteurizing theslurry.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising heatingthe insects prior to spraying the insects with water.
 4. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the water is added to the slurry at a ratioof 2.0 pounds of the water to 1.5 pounds of the insects.
 5. The methodas recited in claim 1, further comprising separating dry particlesproduced by the drying chamber using at least one mesh.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein dispensing the slurry into the dryingchamber includes utilizing a rotary disk having a diameter of betweenapproximately 170 mm and approximately 300 mm.
 7. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein dispensing the slurry into the drying chamberincludes utilizing a rotary disk spinning at a rate of approximately5000 RPMs and approximately 25,000 RPMs.
 8. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein dispensing the slurry into the drying chamber is at arate of approximately 1715 pounds per hour.
 9. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein dispensing the slurry into the drying chamber is at arate of between approximately 1700 and 1750 pounds per hour.
 10. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising separating dryparticles produced by the drying chamber using at least one cyclone. 11.A method comprising: heating crickets by rinsing with water at atemperature of between 35° F. and 80° F. for a period of greater thantwo hours and less than three hours; generating, at a mixer, a firstslurry from the crickets by mixing the crickets while water at atemperature of approximately 140° F. is added to the crickets at a rateof 2.0 pounds of the water to 1.5 pounds of the crickets, the mixerincluding an impeller that is initially set to a rate of 1140 RPMS andincreased to a rate of 1800 RMPS after a period of time elapses;generating, at a first shear device, a second slurry, the second slurryhaving a particle size of less than 100 microns and the first sheardevice having a rotational speed of between 35 HZ and 60 HZ;pasteurizing the second slurry; and dispensing at a rate of betweenapproximately 1500 pounds per hour and 2000 pounds per hour, by a rotaryatomizer having a disk with a diameter of between approximately 170 mmand approximately 300 mm and rotating at a speed of betweenapproximately 5000 RPMs and approximately 25,000 RPMs, the slurry into adrying chamber to generate a resulting product; drying the resultingproduct; and filtering the resulting product to remove any productgreater than a desired particle size using at least two cyclones and atleast two mesh sifters.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11, whereinheating the crickets includes thawing the whole crickets from a frozenstate.
 13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the drying chamberis approximately 14 feet in diameter and 14 feet in height.
 14. Themethod as recited in claim 11, wherein the rotary atomizer dispenses theslurry at a rate of approximately 1715 pounds per hour.
 15. The methodas recited in claim 11, wherein the drying chamber is coupled to the atleast two cyclone.
 16. A method for generating insect-based flourcomprising: generating a slurry of water and insect by spraying insectsclassified as part of Gryllidae family with water for a period of timegreater than one hour; converting, by a mixer and a first shear device,the slurry of water and insects parts into a fluid with no suspendedparticles greater than 100 microns in size by passing the slurry throughthe mixer and the first shear device at least two times, a speed of themixer set by a management system between a rate of 1000 RPMs and 1600RPMs on the first pass through the mixer and between a rate of between1400 RPMs and 2000 RPMs on the second pass through the mixer;pasteurizing the fluid; dispensing, by a rotary atomizer utilizing arotary disk, the fluid into a drying chamber, a speed of the rotary diskat between approximately 10000 RPMs and approximately 20,000 RPMs; andseparating dry particles produced by the drying chamber.
 17. The methodfor generating insect-based flour as recited in claim 16, wherein therotary disk has a diameter of between approximately 170 mm andapproximately 300 mm.
 18. The method for generating insect-based flouras recited in claim 16, the drying chamber between approximately 10 feetin diameter and approximately 22 feet in diameter and approximately 10feet tall and approximately 22 feet tall.
 19. The method for generatinginsect-based flour as recited in claim 16, wherein separating the dryparticles produced by the drying chamber include passing the dryparticles through at least two cyclones and a sifter.
 20. The method forgenerating insect-based flour as recited in claim 16, wherein the insectis a cricket.